Jag älskar Astrid Lindgren review

Ylva understands that Astrid Lindgren lost a child too, and believes Lindgren would understand her, even though the author did manage to get her son back. Inspired by this, Ylva begins to relate to Astrid Lindgren to such an extent that she keeps returning to Lindgren’s flat for tour after tour. Her behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, so that she begins stealing things from Lindgren’s home and eventually hides in it rather than leaving at the end of the tour. The poor tour guide is shocked and frightened to find Ylva under Lindgren’s bed. Meanwhile, the reader starts to understand what brought Ylva to this low point.

Jag älskar Astrid Lindgren has chapters that alternate going back versus forward in time, so that Ylva’s life keeps progressing as the days pass while it is also made clear that she is stuck in the painful past and is frozen in time. Meanwhile, the stark images, solely in black and white, with some heavy black lines, emphasise Ylva’s tragedy. It is a short novel that is hard to put down, because the reader is immediately pulled into Ylva’s story. The ambiguous ending offers no resolution or relief.

Ylva’s psychosis will feel relatable to anyone who has suffered grief or depression, particularly around childbirth. It is no surprise that she turns to an eminent author of children’s books when she needs comfort and connection; the tragedy is that neither Astrid Lindgren nor anyone else is willing or able to listen to and support Ylva, or to bring her boy back to her.